Crush
by Micheal The Raconteur
Summary: Finn and Marceline have been friends for a long time and after an incident between them everything changes between the two. Whether it's for better or worse.
1. Crush

It was a rainy and windy night across the land of Ooo. Everyone in the land had fallen asleep save for a couple of nocturnal creatures. Among these creatures was Marceline the Vampire Queen. She'd been hiding in her house for the past week ever since her awkward encounter with her human friend. She had her face buried underneath several layers of blankets, wrapping herself up tightly.

During these last couple of years, she had taken a liking to a certain human. He'd grown up from a scrawny teenager to a much more mature and lovely young adult. She always thought that she'd see him as the awkward little boy she met all those years ago, but as he aged he became something different to her. He became something more.

When the boy reached eighteen a couple of months ago, he got much taller and his voice began to deepen. She didn't really know how to react to the fact that she was crushing on the boy so she eventually began to blow him off. As much as she hated to do it, she felt that her crush would pass and when it did, she would make it up to Finn. The only problem was that Finn would always want to hang out with her or he would want to know what she had been up to. She didn't have any way to get away from him. Not that she wanted to, oh god she _wanted_ him to stay with her and never leave, but she couldn't risk falling in love. Not again.

* * *

Finn was a simple kind of guy. The only thing that had ever troubled him in his simple life was his love life. He had a tendency for falling in love with women who were more.. shall we say more difficult to be with. He didn't mean to do it. It would just happened. It was funny to him though. The hero of Ooo, paragon of good, warrior of warriors was no match against his heart.

He didn't mind that his heart would win over logic and reason, but he was always worried to whom his heart would lead him to and based off his past relationships, he had a very good reason to be.

That was why he was pacing around his room at three in the morning and smacking his head. His heart had led him on to another girl. Not just any kind of girl, a special kind of girl. More specifically his best friend, Marceline. It had developed over the years as he got to know her more. But his crush had stricken him more severely at the age of eighteen. That was when he began noticing more of her features. The way that her silky black hair fell gently upon her shoulders or how her crimson eyes glimmered when he was around. He tried time and time again to tell her what exactly what he was feeling but never mustered up enough courage to tell her. He would bother her more than what he usually did just so he could have an opportunity to confess.

So here he was wandering around his room hoping to find the courage to tell her. Little did he know that she had felt the same thing.

* * *

Marceline unwrapped herself from her blankets and floated on to her restroom. She tried looking into her mirror to see her reflection but saw nothing.

"Oh yeah. I'm a vampire." She told herself sleepily

She then grabbed her hair and put it into a ponytail. She looked down and saw she was only wearing a bra and panties.

"Who am I impressing? I'm gonna go put some real clothes on." She said as she left her bathroom and closed the door behind her.

* * *

"What am I gonna do?" Finn said as he ran his hands through his hair

Finn's anxiousness was steadily increasing as he paced around the treehouse. He was looking for an excuse to go and tell Marceline how he felt but couldn't find one. Then he began to imagine what would happen if someone else asked her out and if she said yes. He unintentionally made himself extremely jealous but confident as well. So it was then and there that he decided that he was going to march over to Marceline's house and tell her how he felt before somebody else did. Even if there was pretty much no one else.

Finn busted out of his room and walked downstairs.

"I'm gonna tell her how I feel. I'm gonna tell her." He repeated as he threw on a plain white shirt

He put some blue jeans on and put on brown boots. He walked over to his sofa and picked up his white and blue zip up hoodie that Raggedy Princess made for him. (It had his signature bear hat attached on to it as well.)

"I'm gonna do it. The worst thing she could say is "no"." Were the last words to echo through the house before Finn opened the door and left.

* * *

Marceline floated around her house aimlessly. She couldn't shake the feeling that she had in her stomach. She could feel her brain and heart disagreeing with each other. Her heart was telling her to just tell Finn about how she felt for him while her brain was telling her to think about the long run. He was human and had an expiration date. Her feelings were being torn apart and all she could do was just suffer in silence. Then there was a knock on her front door.

* * *

Finn had walked for the past thirty minutes. He was somewhat drenched by the downpour of rain. His hair was wet and hanging on to his face. As he got closer to Marceline's home, he could feel his nervousness grow.

"What am I gonna tell her? "Oh, Marceline I really enjoy your hot bod now let's smooch."" He said to himself

Finn rubbed his arms nervously as he neared the entrance to Marceline's cave. He pulled a potion out of his pocket and opened it. He poured the contents of the potion into his mouth and drank it. He felt his body temperature drop sharply as a cold sensation filled the inside of his body. He looked towards the body of water that led towards Marceline's house and pointed his hand to it. A beam of ice came from his hand and froze the water. He made an ice pathway up to Marceline's front lawn. He brought his left foot forward and inspected the steadiness of the pathway. It didn't crack in the slightest. So he began his way down to Marceline's front door.

"This is it, Finn. Showtime." He whispered to himself

He then took in a deep breath and walked up the steps to her house and knocked on the front door.


	2. Accidental Affection

_One week earlier..._

"Hey Finn, what game do you feel like playing on Bmo?" Jake asked him, breaking him away from his thoughts

"I don't feel like playing Bmo tonight, Jake."

"You sure?"

"Yeah, man. I'm probably gonna head to bed." Finn said as he walked towards the ladder that led to his room

"Okay. Goodnight!" Jake told him

Finn climbed up to his room and laid down on his bed. He took his white bear hat off and threw it on the floor. He stared at the ceiling with his eyes half-open. A cool breeze entered the room, causing the temperature to drop sharply.

"Boo." A voice said to Finn's face

"Hey, Marcy." Finn greeted her calmly

"Hey."

"So what are you doing here?" He asked her

Marceline appeared in front of him and lowered herself on to his bed. She gave out a slight yawn and stretched her arms.

"I just felt like seeing ya, you doofus."

"That's cool." Finn said as he sat up on his bed and fixed his hair a little.

"You know, this is the first time I've actually seen your hair.." Marceline told him as she floated closer to him and begun playing with his hair

"Really? I thought you out of all people would have seen it already."

Marceline just shook her head and continued to play with his hair. Finn moved a little closer to Marceline and relaxed his body. He laid himself back down on the bed. She laid down on the bed with him and began humming to herself.

"I like it when you hum, Marcy." He told her sweetly

She could feel herself blushing heavily as she hummed on. She looked and saw that he was looking at her. She could feel butterflies swarm her stomach as he gazed upon her. Marceline poked the human's nose and stuck her tongue out at him. Finn poked her back and blew a raspberry at her. Marceline then began poking him all over causing him to squirm and giggle. Finn then began doing the same thing to her, causing the same reaction that he had. And soon enough, an all-out poking war began between them.

Giggling and snorts could be heard throughout the room as they both continued to poke each other viciously. Then Finn began to gain the upper hand. He had Marceline pinned against the bed as he tickled her. Marceline began jerking back and forth.

"Stop, Finn! Stop it! I'm gonna pee! Stop!"

"Nope." He said as a grin spread across his face

Marceline barely managed to squirm out of his grip and floated away from him.

"Come back here, you coward." Finn said as he stared at her viciously

Marceline stared back at him and charged at him. She tackled him to the bed and began tickling him without mercy.

"No, Marcy! Stop! Oh Grob! Aaah, that tickles! I give up! I give up!"

Marceline stopped tickling him. Finn began to regain his breath slowly. Marceline floated closer to him and pinned down his wrists with her hands.

"I'm sorry, Finny. I didn't quite catch that."

Finn's face became red as he looked away from her. She was sitting on him to make sure that he wouldn't squirm out.

"I said that.. Idon'tgiveupyet!" He yelled as he managed to toss Marceline back on to the bed and crawled on top of her

Finn was about to tickle her again but noticed the position they were in. He was on top of her. Marceline looked at him and smiled. They both nervously laughed. Finn could feel himself lowering down on top of her. He then pressed himself on top of her. He felt her breasts against his chest causing his breathing to pick up as he came closer and closer to her. He saw that Marceline's eyes were half-open but a small smirk was apparent on her face. Now he was face to face with the Vampire Queen. Then something happened. He pressed his lips against her's and kissed her.

Marceline grabbed on to his hair as their lips melted into each other. Finn deepened the kiss which caused both of them to moan. Finn broke away from the kiss and put his mouth on her neck. He began sucking on her neck which caused her breathing to cease for a moment before she let out a whimper. Finn then nibbled on her neck gently causing her to moan lowly. Then as quickly as it came, the moment passed. Finn brought himself off her neck as Marceline let go of his hair. They made eye contact.

"Oh my Gob! I'm so sorry, Marceline!" Finn yelled out as he hopped off of her

"I gotta go, Finn." Marceline said as she wiped her lips with her hand and floated away from him

"I'm sorry!" Finn said as he threw himself on his bed and buried his face into the pillows

'_What did you just do?!_' Finn screamed in his mind as Marceline flew out of the house and closed the door behind her.

Jake was walking around the house with Bmo as Marceline opened the front door and left.

"What was that all about?" Bmo asked

Jake simply shrugged.

"Maybe Finn knows." Bmo said as climbed the ladder to Finn's room

"Maybe." Jake said as he followed the little robot

They both entered the room to see Finn burying his face into his pillows. Jake stretched his way to the bed and patted Finn on his back.

"Hey, buddy. How's it going?" Jake asked calmly

"Horrible." Finn said with his head still in the pillow causing him to sound muffled

"And why's that?"

Finn didn't reply but simply yelled into the pillow.

"You gotta tell me what happened so I can help you."

Finn brought his head off the pillow and looked at Jake.

"I kissed Marceline.."

"You WHAT?!" Jake screamed

"I kissed her, Jake."

Jake hopped off the bed and grabbed Bmo.

"Sorry, Finn but you're on your own. I don't deal with blood sucking monsters!" He said as he left the room

"She's not a monster." Finn said to himself, "She's beautiful.."

Finn laid back down on his bed and covered himself with his fur blankets.

"What am I gonna do?" He said to himself as he put his head back down into the pillow.

* * *

**So now we saw what happened to Finn and Marceline the week before. I had trouble writing this one because I'm not used to writing still. Even after all this time I'm still discovering my strong points in writing. So any feedback you can offer would be greatly appreciated. **

**The next chapter should continue from the first one. Also a new chapter for my story Brothers should be coming out any day now so be on the lookout for that.**

**Thank you for reading and reviewing. **

**-Samuel**


	3. The Confession

Marceline opened her door and saw Finn standing right in front of her. He was probably here to tell her something about what had happened between them and telling by the nervous expression on his face, it probably wasn't good. He was about to say something but she beat him to it.

"Finn, about what happened.."

"It's okay." Finn said as he gave her a smile

Marceline began to relax.

"Can I come in?" He asked her gently

"Sure." She said as she floated backwards into her living room

Finn walked inside and closed the door behind him. He stood in the center of the living room and blew a raspberry. Marceline set her feet on the ground and looked Finn right in his eyes.

"Marceline, look I.. I just.. uh." He nervously stammered

Finn could feel his confidence crumbling rapidly. He was gonna end up never telling her if he didn't do it now. So he decided to speak with as Jake called it, his "melon-heart".

"Marceline, I really like you. I really, really like you. You're so.. radical and fun and.. pretty."

Marceline could feel herself blushing as he complimented her.

"I felt something when I kissed you, Marceline. Something amazing."

She couldn't believe what she was hearing. She'd only daydream about this moment but now it was happening. So now what? Her mind was telling her to put him down gently but her heart was telling her to go for it. Before she could say anything, they were interrupted as her house phone began to ring. Marceline ignored it.

"Are you gonna answer that?" Finn asked

"They can call back."

Finn tried to continue talking but the ringing phone kept him from going any further. Marceline rolled her eyes and picked the phone up and hung it up. Finn frowned at her.

"What? They can call back later."

The anxiety began to eat up Finn as he stood there. His confidence was pretty much eviscerated.

"Marceline, I need to know something."

"And what is that?"

A bead of sweat dripped down the side of his head and his palms were getting clammy. And before he knew it he asked,

"Did you feel something too?"

Silence. Everything froze and canceled out. Time stood at a standstill for the two. Finn could feel his heart pounding as he waited for an answer. He could feel the small drafts of air blowing around him. Marceline had an uneasy expression on her face. As if on cue, time resumed its normal flow as soon as she opened her mouth.

"I did feel something, Finn. Something I haven't felt in a long time."

Finn could feel his heart jump for joy and a smile began to grow on his face. Marceline turned around and continued,

"But how long is it going to last? How long is it going to be before we get sick of each other and break everything off?"

Finn was taken back a bit by her bluntness. He didn't expect her to have those kinds of questions. So he tried his best to defuse the situation.

"I can see what you're getting at. And I can't say that everything will be okay, but can't we at least try?" He said as he took a step closer to her

Marceline rubbed her hands on her shoulders.

"Even if it does work out for us, how much time would we have?"

Finn stopped moving. It was then and there that he knew why she was trying to discourage him. Why everyone ever discouraged him and why he was alone. It had always stuck with him as he tried to live his life and there was nothing he could do about it.

"It's because I'm human, isn't it?" He asked quietly

Marceline could feel shivers go down her spine. She turned back around and faced him.

"Finn.."

"Is that why? Because I'm going to die someday."

"Finn, please don't do this..."

"Well it's okay, Marcy. I won't put you through that." He said as tears threatened to leave his eyes

"Finn, listen to me." She said softly

"I'll leave and you won't have to worry about me again." He said as he made his way out of the house and closed the door behind him

Marceline stood there quietly as she let the recent turn of events sink in. She wanted to tell him yes but she simply couldn't. There were so many things against them and she couldn't bear the thought of having Finn and growing to love him only to lose him to some uncertain circumstance. Her eyes began watering up as the moments passed on. Her heart was practically screaming at her to go back to him, but her body felt heavy. She dragged herself to the window and saw Finn exit the cave and walk into the rain. She stood there even after Finn was no longer visible and let her tears flow down her face.

* * *

"How could I be so stupid!" Finn yelled out into the rain as he made his way home

As if it were a response to his yelling, a loud thunder-clap rang throughout the skies. The rain began to fall even harder.

"I guess I really was meant to be alone."

The coldness inside his body dropped to an even lower temperature as if reacting to his own emotion. Ice began to form around his hands and form from his footsteps as he walked on. The air around him begun to get colder. Strong gusts of wind blew around him. The treehouse came into view as Finn gloomily walked on. He walked up to the front door and opened it. As he went inside he slammed the door behind him.

"I can't be here right now. I gotta get out of here. I gotta go somewhere. Somewhere other than here." Finn said as he could feel himself drowning in his own self-pity and regret

He went upstairs and grabbed his old green backpack and opened it. He gathered a good amount of shirts, underwear, pants and socks and stuffed them into his backpack. He threw his backpack on to his back, grabbed an umbrella and walked out of the house and into the night.


	4. White

Finn woke up and found himself laying down inside a cave. He looked at the outside of the cave and saw that the sun was barely rising, leaving the sky a bright pinkish hue. So that meant that he only got a couple of hours of sleep. He groggily gathered his bearings and stood up. He looked around the cave and saw that it was empty. He was half expecting to see Marceline's house behind him and was thankful that he didn't. He didn't feel like seeing her right now. Finn picked up his backpack, slung it across his back and walked out of the cave.

When he stepped out he was greeted with a breath of sunshine. The ground around him was muddy and soggy but he didn't mind. He marched along the muddy ground and looked at the sky. It was painted a brilliant hot pink with cotton clouds scattered around it. He looked to his surroundings and saw that he was in a forest. The chirping of birds could be heard all around as he walked on. He could still feel the newly opened emotional wounds from the night before. So he started to sing to himself.

**_"Could this be Earth? Could this be light?_**

**_Does this mean everything, is going to be alright?"_**

Finn touched a tree as he passed by and sighed. He patted it and walked past it. He could hear the trees whispering all around him.

**_"When I look outside there's trees talking like people_**

**_I've dreamt of storms, I've dreamt of sound_**

**_I've dreamt of gravity, keeping us around_**

**_I've slept in the darkness, it was lonely, and there was silence"_**

Finn stood in silence as he let flashes of the night from before fill his mind. He slowly swayed himself into walking forward almost as if he didn't want to go any further.

**_"What is this love? I don't feel the same_**

**_Don't believe what this is, could be given a name_**

**_And I forget my first love, like you forget a daydream_**

**_And what if all my wild friends, and the times I've had with them_**

**_Will all fade to grey soon, on the TV station."_**

Finn walked out of the forest with his head hung low and kept going without looking back.

* * *

Several hours later Finn found himself at the entrance of a small town. The town looked run down and dirty. People were hiding inside their houses and some shop keepers locked down their shops as soon as Finn walked into town.

"What is going on here?" Finn said to himself

Finn walked up to a shanty little building and looked at the sign on the door. It was a weapons shop. Finn knocked on the window gently and looked inside.

"Hello? Is anyone there? I'd like to buy a weapon."

A frightened and small voice cried out,

"We're closed! Go away!"

"You can't be closed yet. It's not even night-time yet." Finn said

"It's Sunday. We're closed on Sundays!" The voice said

Finn looked at the sign on the door. It showed a small calendar with the date. It was Thursday.

"It says here that it's Thursday, man. Not Sunday."

"Just get out of here!"

"That's not nice, dude." Finn replied

"Do you want the Hunters to hurt you? No, you don't! So get away while you still can!"

"Who are the Hunters? Are they bad?"

"Yes, they're bad. They're horrible. Now get away from here!"

Laughter and stomping could be heard as a group of people entered the town. They were all extremely fit men who were enormous in size and were covered in animal pelts. They looked over at the hero and walked up to him.

"What're you doing in our town?" One of them asked

Finn looked up at the man. He was about eight feet tall and had ragged red hair. He had a full beard on his face and an eye patch covering his right eye.

"I was just about to buy a weapon but you have these poor people so scared that they don't want to sell anything to me. I don't think you should scare these people anyways. It's not nice." Finn told them

"Are you serious?" The man asked

Finn just looked the man dead in the eye. The man began laughing uncontrollably at him. The rest of the group joined in with him. The whole town echoed with laughter as the men laughed at Finn. The red-haired man wiped away a tear and patted Finn on his head.

"I'll give you a warning since you're new in our town. We're the Hunters. We run this town and we do as we please." The man leaned in and let his hot breath hit Finn's face. "It would be wise to leave and never come back, you runt."

"Your breath smells." Finn said as he held his nose

The man stared at him and blew more of his breath into Finn's face.

"Have you ever heard of a toothbrush? Or even a bath?" Finn joked

"No one makes fun of the Hunters!" The red-haired man yelled as he raised his fist and swung it at Finn

Finn ducked before the man's fist could make contact. Finn smirked and blew a raspberry at the man. The man threw another punch at him but Finn evaded it once more.

"It's not polite to try to fight your guests. I thought that maybe since you guys "run this town" that maybe you'd show a little hospitality but I guess I was wrong." Finn said as he chuckled

The man was getting visibly angry as veins began appearing on his forehead.

"I'm gonna kill you, you little shit!" The man screamed

"Whoa! Language, my dear sir. We're all adults here. No need for such words." Finn teased as he kept evading the man's punches

"Shut up!" The man yelled

"If only you took your own advice.." Finn muttered to himself

"Are you guys gonna help me crush this runt or what?" The man yelled out to his comrades

The rest of the gang ran towards Finn and began throwing punches as well. Finn dodged all their punches with ease. The whole gang of Hunters began to get frustrated. They all started swinging their fists everywhere. Finn backed out of the crowd and watched as the Hunters began to unknowingly fight each other.

"I think I got him!" One cried out

"Bugger won't stay down!" Another cried out

Finn began chuckling to himself as he leaned back against the weapons building. The store owner opened his glass door slowly.

"How did you do that?" The store owner asked

Finn looked back at him and got off the building.

"It was pretty easy. They just wanted to fight something so they used me as an excuse. I kept dodging their punches until they started punching each other. Luckily they aren't smart enough to figure out that I'm not even a part of their fighting now."

The group of Hunters were beginning to get bloody and bruised. One of them punched the man with the eye patch so hard that he fell unconscious. Every single one of them gasped and held their breath. Then all hell broke loose among them.

"You punched the boss!" One of the brutes cried out

"It was an accident I swear!"

"Let's get him!"

And so they began to chase the man who knocked out their boss. Finn and the store owner laughed to themselves.

"I'm so sorry for the way I treated you, stranger." The store owner apologized to Finn

"It's ok, dude. The name's Finn by the way."

"Ok, Finn. So you wanted to buy a weapon? Come in and I'll show you what I have." The store owner said as he pushed the door open and walked inside

Finn walked inside the store and closed the door behind him.

* * *

_A couple of hours earlier.._

Marceline woke up and saw that she was huddled in the corner of her room. She brought herself up from the floor and floated on over to her bed and threw herself on to it. She touched her cheek and felt dry tears on her face. The events of the night before filled her head. She couldn't believe that all of that had transpired so quickly and badly. She felt a pang of regret hit her as she knew that things would be different between Finn and her now.

Her house phone then started to ring downstairs. She didn't feel like answering the phone so she just let it ring. The ringing persisted as the moments went by.

She floated off her bed and went downstairs.

She approached her phone and picked it up.

"What do you want?" She asked roughly

"Marceline?" Jake's voice came on from the other end

Marceline sighed. Finn told him and now he's gonna chew her out big time.

"Listen, I was just calling to see if Finn is still at your house. Is he there?"

"Wait, what?" Marceline asked confusedly

"Is Finn at your house?"

Marceline shook her head and said,

"No, he went home."

"Are you sure? Because he's not here."

Marceline felt a prickle of worry inside her mind.

"What do you mean he's not there?" She asked him

"He's not here. I just got back and there's no sign of him here. Do you know where he went at all?"

"No. Me and Finn kinda.." She trailed off

"What happened, Marceline?" Jake asked her

"A lot of stuff happened, Jake."

"Like what?"

"Well, Finn told me he liked me last night.." She said slowly

"Well yeah you're his friend."

"No, Jake. That he like-likes me and that he wanted to be more than friends."

"Oh."

"I told him that I liked him too and-"

"Wait you told him you like him too? I don't see the problem here." Jake interrupted her

Marceline hung her head a little and let her hair cover her face.

"I told him no, Jake.." She said so lowly that it almost came out as a whisper

Jake became quiet.

"I told him that we wouldn't work out because we had so many things against us."

Jake was still silent. A rustling sound could be heard on the other end.

"Jake?"

"This is bad.." Jake said lowly

"What?"

"I was looking through our room and a lot of Finn's clothes are missing and Beemo just told me that Finn did come home earlier this morning but left." Jake said on the other end

"Well, where did you think he went?" Marceline asked him

"Hold on..." Jake said as more rustling could be heard on his end

Marceline waited a couple of moments. She then heard Jake sigh.

"What happened?" Marceline asked

"Finn left a note."

"What does it say?"

She could hear Jake mumbling to himself as he read the note on the other end.

"Marceline, I don't think he's coming back.."

This caught Marceline off guard.

"What do you mean he's not coming back?" She asked worriedly

"He ran away, Marceline. Finn's gone."

* * *

_A couple of hours later.._

"What do you mean he ran away?" Princess Bubblegum said softly

"He's gone. He left earlier this morning and nobody knows where he went. Not even Jake." Peppermint Butler said

Princess Bubblegum sighed deeply.

"Should we send a search party after him?" The tiny butler asked

"No, there's probably a reason why he left and it's most likely a personal one. We shouldn't drag him back here. He'll probably come back in a couple of days. Two weeks tops."

Peppermint Butler nodded and walked out of her room. Princess Bubblegum sat down on her bed and sighed.

"Why would you want to leave, Finn? What happened?" She asked herself

* * *

"So what kind of weapon were you looking for?" The store owner asked him as he stepped behind his counter

The store's interior had an old feeling to it. The floors and walls were old wood. Dozens of swords, claymores, daggers, throwing knives and other kinds of weapons lined up the walls and shelves. Finn could sense that this building was really old. Maybe even Pre-Mushroom War old. The smell of old wood could confirm that.

"The best sword you got." Finn told him

The owner gave him a nod and walked into the back of his store. He came back a few moments later carrying a Katana and it's sheath. Finn gave him a quizzical look.

"I know what you're thinking but this baby is battle ready I'm telling you. This can cut through stuff like crazy." He said as he handed Finn the blade.

Finn grabbed it and wrapped his hands around the hilt. It felt smooth and natural in his hands. He gave it a slow practice swing. The store owner looked at him and saw the smile on Finn's face. Finn pulled out a small piece of paper and placed it against the katana. He dragged it down and watched as the blade cut right through it with no effort. Finn turned around and placed it back on the counter.

"I'll take it." Finn told him as he took off his backpack

Finn pulled out a small sack of gold from his backpack and placed it on the counter. He then grabbed the sword and sheathed it.

"This is more than enough to pay for it." The owner told him

"Keep it." Finn said as he picked up his backpack and threw it on his back

"Ok. Well thank you for helping us!" The store owner thanked him

"No problem. It's what I do." Finn said as he walked out the front door and closed it behind him

Finn began walking through the town with a little more enthusiasm in his steps. A loud grumble from his stomach caught his attention. Then he felt his hunger hit him like a train.

"Oh man. I need foods for my tum-tums" He said to himself

He looked around the town and saw that more people were coming back out and opening their shops back up. Finn saw a food store across the road and made his way towards it. As he walked on he heard murmurs all around him.

"Is that Finn?" A man asked

"What's he doing in a dump like this?" A woman asked

"He's so dreamy." A girl said to herself

Finn laughed nervously and went inside the food store. He came out several minutes later and started walking again. An immense crowd of people ran up to Finn and picked him off his feet and cheered for him.

"Whoa!" Finn cried out

"You go, Finn!" Someone cheered

"You're awesome, Finn!" A small brown-haired boy shouted out

The cheering crowd was certainly a big lift to Finn's spirits but they were a little too close for his comfort.

"Finn, I want you to have my babies!" A blonde haired girl screamed out

"Wait, what?!" Finn said as he began blushing heavily

"No, Finn! Have my babies!" A red-haired woman shouted

"I don't think I want to have anyone's babies." Finn replied nervously

Finn managed to hop down from being lifted by the crowd and started navigating his way through the crowd.

"Finn, can you marry my daughter? It would be such an honor if you could." An old man said as he came up to the hero

"Sorry, but I have to say no."

"Finn, can you punch my face?!" A marshmallow man asked him

"What? No!"

"C'mon Finn! Punch me in the face!"

The crowd began to close in on Finn. He needed to get out of the crowd or else he'd end up being a pancake.

'_C'mon, Finn. We need a distraction._' Finn thought to himself

Finn looked at his surroundings and found nothing useful to his situation.

"Finn, let me have your backpack!" A guy cried out

"I need it!" Finn yelled back

Then an idea popped in his head.

'_They'd practically eat anything that's mine. So what about.._'

Finn pulled his backpack off his back and began digging through it. Finn pulled out another bear hat similar to the one stitched on his zip-up sweatshirt. He always kept a spare hat with him wherever he went and was pretty lucky because of that. He held his hat high in the air and everyone became silent.

"Whoever wants my hat can have it!" He shouted out as he tossed the hat as far as he could

The whole crowd ran away from him and went for the hat. Finn quickly ran in the opposite direction and sped off.

* * *

After a couple more hours of walking, Finn was quite far away from the town and found himself walking down a small trail in a heavily forested area. He looked up and saw that the sky was a faded baby blue with a tint of pink quickly overtaking it. It was probably around six in the afternoon right now and the sun was setting fast. He needed some form of shelter and there weren't any caves nearby so that wasn't an option. He kept on walking forward, hoping to find some sort of shelter for the night. As he was walking he noticed something out in the distance. A small group of lights were flickering about half a mile away. A small ray of hope presented itself in front of the human and he quickly began running in the direction of the lights.

* * *

"Marceline, I don't think it's exactly the best idea to go after him." Jake said as he stood in front of the Vampire Queen

"Why not, Jake?" Marceline asked as she floated past him

"Because he needs his space. Finn needs time to think and to be alone."

"Why won't you help me look for him, Jake?" Marceline asked as she grunted

"Because he'll come back on his own eventually. Just give it time." Jake said as he walked into the kitchen

Marceline sat down on the couch and let herself sink into it. She let her axe-bass rest next to the couch and sighed. A lot had changed since the last time she was here in the old treehouse. It was certainly a lot more emptier than usual but she figured that the reason as to why it was so empty was because of when Jake moved out of the house. Jake always did have a lot of stuff. Finn's scent completely covered the house and she could feel herself drowning in it. It was pleasant and sweet-smelling. She inhaled deeply, letting the scent fill her lungs and overtake her senses. She closed her eyes and let herself relax.

An image began to conjure itself into her vision. Colors and sounds mixed together in a swirl and soon enough she was looking at herself talking to Finn and laughing. She remembers this memory clearly. It was the first time that they ever talked about love. She smiled as she watched herself and Finn lay down on the roof of the treehouse and talk. She remembered how it felt to be the center of his attention. It was like she was the only thing that existed in his eyes. He even blew off Princess Bubblegum several times just so he could hang out with her. She really got a kick out of that. Memory Finn began to speak up so she decided to pay attention.

"Hey, Marceline."

"What's up?" Memory Marceline asked

Memory Finn looked like he was getting nervous as he tried to spit out his next sentence. Memory Marceline looked over at Finn.

"What's wrong?" She asked him

"Nothing. I just wanted to ask you something."

"Okay." She said uneasily

Memory Finn looked over at Memory Marceline and finally managed to make eye contact.

"Do you believe in love?"

"What?"

"Do you believe in love?" Memory Finn repeated

"Uhh.. I don't know, Finn. Love is a strong word."

Memory Marceline looked over at Memory Finn and asked,

"Do you?"

"I think it exists. We probably just haven't found it yet." Memory Finn said as he yawned slightly

Marceline looked over at Memory Marceline and Finn and waited for the next part of the conversation to roll in.

"Maybe that's the problem." Memory Finn said

"Maybe." Memory Marceline replied

Memory Marceline looked back up at the night sky. Memory Finn kept looking at Memory Marceline. A soft smile appeared on his face.

"Or maybe the one we love is right in front of us and we just haven't seen it yet.."

The scenery around Marceline melted away and she opened her eyes.

* * *

She found herself with a blanket thrown over her. She sat up on the couch and rubbed her eyes. She looked out the window and saw that it was night-time outside. She threw the blanket off and stood up. She picked up her axe-bass and slung it over her shoulder. She floated upstairs and saw that Beemo was asleep in Finn's bed with one of his hats. Jake was nowhere to be found. She floated back downstairs and headed for the door. She picked up an umbrella that was leaning in the corner and opened the front door. She floated outside and closed the door behind her.

* * *

**(The song used in this chapter is called White by Odd Future. It's a nice slow song. I made some minor edits to the song so it could fit into the story though.)**

* * *

**Author's Note: First off I'd like to say that this is the most I've written in a long time for a single chapter. I hope you enjoyed it.**

**This story is going to be updated more often than my other ones because this one is so damn fun to write. ****Finn also has a new sword and it's a katana. I'm thinking of ****naming the katana Shoko in honor of his former self.**

**I tried to put a bit of everything into this chapter and I hope that it blended well into the story and to you readers. Nothing much has happened except for that tussle Finn had with the Hunters but I will tell you that Finn will end up putting his new sword to good use. Things will surely pick up in the next two chapter so stay tuned!**

**Once again, thanks for reading and don't forget to leave a review!**

**-Samuel The Racounteur**


	5. IMPORTANT UPDATE FOR ALL MY STORIES

**Hello there fellow readers! This is not a new chapter for this story which I apologize for. This is an update. **

* * *

**Starting off with my most popular story, Mentality. I am typing it out still but I'm not even close to finishing the next chapter. Reason being was that as soon as I finished chapter thirteen (Connector) I then began typing out more chapters for my other stories. I am terribly sorry for anyone who is waiting but do know that I am working on it again.**

* * *

**As for Everything is Beautiful I have hit a major roadblock for that story. I have no idea as to how I can continue that story. I will keep on trying to figure something out so I can continue but for now it will be on a temporary hiatus until further notice.**

* * *

**After Death is still ongoing it's just that I never really get around to typing out the next chapters for it. So do not lose hope. It will be continued but it just seems to be more of "in the moment" kind of writing so whenever I feel like writing for it I will. I just hope that it happens again soon.**

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**Recluse is on hold as well. Not that many of you may care but there is that one person I suppose. I have some of the next chapter typed out as well but not enough to post. **

* * *

**Crush is also still in the works. I'm still working on that but I don't have enough to post. I just hope that I can stop being so damn lazy and just fucking type the rest of the chapters out.**

* * *

**Uneasy Hearts is getting more difficult to write because I lack the enthusiasm to write now. This goes for all of my stories. I just feel like writing is becoming something I have to do rather than something I want to do.**

* * *

**I feel terrible because I started all these stories and now I'm over burdened with writing. I don't see it as a bad thing but now it is just more tedious to keep all my stories alive. I feel like my writing has degraded since I started but that just might be me. I will update less frequently for a while and try to take it easy especially since my birthday is coming up (July 12th). But I will try to have something posted on my birthday so I won't leave you guys in the dark forever. **

* * *

**(I have three drabbles that I've been working on as well which might be a bad thing because of the fact I'm trying to take a break from writing for a bit.)**

* * *

**Anyways I hope that can fill you in as to how my stories are doing for the time being. If you have any questions or anything to say feel free to PM me or leave something in the reviews and I will adress it as best I can. I will not abandon you readers. I will try to continue my stories.**

* * *

Thank you guys for sticking with me for all this time. I have gotten countless reviews, favorites, followers and thousands of views from you guys and girls. You don't know how happy this makes me. A couple of months ago I was just someone who lurked on this site and now I'm one of the writers! I never really saw myself as a writer when I started. Hell, I wasn't even a person who wanted to.

One day it had just came to me that I should try to make stories. I tried making my own cartoon story with all kinds of things but I just couldn't put it into the right words. So one day back in December I was on this website and was reading a story. More particularly a Finnceline story. It was good and well written and I found it to be a gem among all the others. Then I just thought to myself, "What if I make a story?". So I grabbed my laptop and began making notes and plot points for my new story. I made an account on this website which is the one you see before you and eventually posted my first chapter on my first story. This story is known as Mentality.

The basic premise of the story is that during Finn's teenage years bad things happen to him which causes him to break. The story then details on how he broke and how he tries to pick up the pieces with his lovely girlfriend Marceline and his mysterious therapist Samuel. The rest is really long but long story short, that's how I got into writing.

* * *

Thank you for reading this if you did and major fucking shoutouts to the guys that stick with me through every chapter. You know who you beauties are.

With love,

Micheal The Raconteur (That's my actual first name. It's pronounced as "MichAel")


	6. Reminiscence: Her Regrets, His Mistakes

**Quick recap: Finn confesses his feelings for Marceline and she tells him she feels the same but can't be with him because of his mortality among other reasons. Heartbroken and tired of his life and misfortunes, Finn runs away in search of something new and doesn't look back. Finn eventually runs into a town and gets supplies for his journey as well as a new weapon. A katana. Then he quickly left the town and disappeared into a nearby forest. While in the forest, Finn discovered a small cluster of lights and decided to head towards it.**

**During this time, Marceline tries to figure out her feelings for Finn but gets a phone call from Jake which interrupts her. Jake then tells her that Finn is missing so Marceline heads on over to the treefort. When she gets there she tries to convince Jake to help look for him with her but to no avail as Jake believes Finn will come back on his own. Marceline sits down on the couch, exhausted from recent events and begins to experiences a certain memory that helps her deal with her confusion and come to an uneasy final decision about her feelings. She then decides to go after Finn and tell him how she really feels and that's where the last chapter left off and where this one begins.**

* * *

Marceline looked down as she flew past the rolling green hills. She could feel all sorts of confusion fill her mind. She didn't know exactly why she was going after Finn or even what she would say to him when she found him but all she knew was that if he really did run away then it really was her fault. As she drifted around her thoughts began to lead her to her past loves and how they fell to shambles. It had been awhile since she had been in a romantic relationship but the memories were still deeply implanted in her brain.

She had memories of Ash in her head but she didn't feel like reliving those any further than what she previously had. Those particular memories were not her favorite to relive and she felt like it had been a mistake to even try with him. No matter how hard she had tried with him, he'd always found a way to mess something up whether it was intentional or not.

So her mind led her to a much more uneasy past relationship. The one she had with Princess Bonnibel Bubblegum. That relationship was always weird for her, considering that it was her first time being with a woman but that wasn't the problem. The problem really lied within the fact that they simply couldn't nurture their relationship so eventually over time it withered into something that was simply driven by lust and the need to not be alone. In more simple words, the love between them wasn't love anymore. It was desperation. Marceline saw how bad it was getting between them because Bonnibel would only talk to her at night and tried to hide her whenever she was near her in public. Not only that but she would only call her over so she could give her a physical release.

So Marceline had to do something that she's regretted to this very day. She broke up with her.

* * *

_Several years earlier.._

Marceline could feel Bonnie's hot breath on her neck as she began to shiver. Bonnie placed her lips against the bite marks on her neck and started to suck on it. Marceline's breath caught in her throat as she felt Bonnie's tongue swirl around her bite marks. Marceline moaned lightly and arched herself upward. Bonnie pushed her back down on to the bed and gently kissed her way down Marceline's body. Marceline laid there only in her undergarments as Bonnie made her way down south. Bonnie slid her hand into her panties and began to stir it around. She began to gently massage herself as she kissed Marceline's stomach. Bonnie picked her head up and took her hand out of her panties. She stared at Marceline with a gaze of lust and determination. Marceline's face became flushed with color as her cheeks heated up. Bonnie took off her own undergarments and sat up on the bed. Marceline sat up on the bed as well and gave the bubblegum princess a look of her own.

As fun as it was to have another sex session something was gnawing at the back of Marceline's mind. It had been for the last couple of weeks but now it was eating her up from the inside. The anxiety was more than what the undead queen was used to but before she could say anything Bonnie crawled over and pressed herself against her and kissed her. The smell of sugary sweet bubblegum filled her nostrils as the kiss stretched on. Bonnie let a small moan escape her lips as she let her hands explore Marceline's figure. Marceline moved her away and looked at her more seriously.

"Bonnie.."

The princess looked at the queen as the lustful expression on her face disappeared.

"What is it, Marceline?" She asked her

Everything in this moment seemed to be off to Marceline. Nothing felt right anymore and she could feel the gnawing in her mind reach into her even more deeply. At this point it was almost unbearable.

"What is this?" She asked her, "What am I to you?"

Bonnie then sat down and took a deep breath. This question was hard for the princess to answer right now. She knew that this question had been having a toll on their relationship simply because of the fact that Marceline seemed less passionate about anything and more troubled for the last couple of weeks. This question was absolutely vital to their relationship and she had no idea how to answer it.

"You mean.. a lot to me, Marceline. I don't know exactly where you.. or even us fall at. I can't label us and I think it's better to leave it at that for now." She told her

She could see Marceline's expression change into one of disappointment.

"But I love you."

Her expression remained the same.

"I've heard you say that a million times, Bonnie and I still don't believe you. You're afraid to be out with me in public and the only time you ever call me now is so we can do this!" Marceline yelled

Marceline floated off the bed and began putting her clothes back on.

"Where are you going?" Bonnie asked

"I'm going home."

"Don't do this to me, Marcy."

"To you? What about me? What about us?"

"We can work this out!" Bonnie told her

"Then tell me how!" She yelled at her

Bonnie looked at her as a sorrowful expression appeared on her face. Marceline finished putting her clothes on.

"Bonnie, I'm tired of just being.. used like this. I barely even see you anymore and we haven't had a decent conversation in weeks. I don't know if I can keep going on like this."

"Marceline, what are you trying to say?"

Marceline floated towards the window and opened it.

"I'm trying to say that I'm done.."

Marceline flew outside and never looked back. Tears were pouring from her eyes as she got further away from the Candy Kingdom. She eventually reached a hill out in the distance and landed on it and collapsed in tears.

* * *

Marceline remembers that night so well. That was the night that she had left Ooo. She did the same thing that Finn did except that now Marceline was the one who made the other run away. Fear began to fill her mind. Since Finn had left now there's the possibility of him never coming back and that worried her. She had gotten used to seeing him around a lot and now he's gone.

The night when Finn kissed her was one she would remember for a long time. Perhaps even longer than Finn's existence.

* * *

Finn couldn't believe his eyes as he emerged out of the forest. The small cluster of lights he was following for most of the day were shining brightly in front of him. In fact the small cluster of lights weren't so small anymore. The lights grew in numbers as Finn came out of the forest. Finn's eyes lit up as he looked at what the lights were shining on. It was a living and breathing city. All the colorful lights were certainly a sight to see for the human. He'd never seen anything like it. The buildings all around him looked like they dated back to before The Great Mushroom War which fascinated him. Pre-War architecture was always a spectacle to see.

He took a step forward and walked into the city. He didn't know about this city or any kind of city in Ooo for that matter that looked this spectacular. The colorful signs that resided on the buildings said many things. Food, gambling, weapons, furniture, theaters and hotels. Anything that he needed was right in front of him. He felt a new sense of excitement fill him up as he walked on down the road. As he passed he saw a Water Nymph about his age who was wearing a white shirt and black jeans looking all around just as amazed as he was. She looked at him with her eyes full of wonder.

"Are you new here as well?" She asked him

"Yeah, I just got here." Finn replied politely

"What's your name?"

"Finn."

"Mine's Isabel! Nice to meet ya!" She said cheerily as she shook his hand

"Nice to meet you too." Finn said nervously

"So where were you thinking of going to?" Isabel asked

"I was gonna go find a place to sleep." Finn told her

"Sleep? Are you crazy? There's so much to explore here!" She told him

"Well now that you mention it.."

"C'mon, we should look around this city together." She said as she grabbed his hand and started walking deeper into the city

"Can I find a hotel first? I really need to take a shower." Finn said

Isabel stopped walking and sniffed the air.

"So that smell _was_ you." She said as she plugged her nose

Finn nervously chuckled and looked around and saw other humanoids walking around the streets. They all looked of upper class and style. He then began looking for an apartment or hotel of some sort that looked like it was within his price range. Sure he had plenty of gold left over but he didn't want to blow all his money on a bed instead of the luxuries of the city. Isabel looked back at him and giggled. They soon reached a decent looking hotel. It was a yellow building that was about seven stories tall. Finn walked inside with Isabel following closely behind.

When Finn and Isabel walked into the main lobby they both looked around with smiles on their faces. Finn walked up to the front desk where a Rock Elemental was working.

"Can I help you?" The person asked him

Finn looked at the person's name tag. His name was Terry.

"Yes Terry, I'd like to rent a room."

"Okay. We have a room on the seventh floor available."

"I'll take it."

"Ok. That'll come out to 300 gold."

Finn dug into his pack and brought out a small sack of gold. He placed it on the desk. Terry quickly began counting the coins as Finn waited around patiently. Isabel then came up to Finn and asked,

"Did you get the room yet?" She whispered to him

"Pretty much. I'm just waiting for this guy." Finn said as he gestured towards Terry

"Oh there's two of you. Would you two prefer the lover's package? It's a specially designed room for couples at a discounted price." Terry offered

Finn and Isabel's faces instantly became shades darker.

"What?! No we're not together!" Isabel said nervously

"We just met!" Finn cried out

"I'm terribly sorry. I just thought that you two were together." He said as handed Finn a key

Finn simply grabbed the key and walked away. Isabel quickly followed. Finn walked up to the elevator and pressed a button. Isabel stood behind Finn and tapped his shoulder.

"What's up?" Finn said as he turned around and faced her

"I'll be at the casino across the street, ok. It's called the Payday."

"Ok. I'll meet you there in an hour." Finn said as the elevator door opened

Finn stepped inside and gave Isabel a small wave. She smiled back at him as the elevator doors closed. Finn looked over and clicked on the seventh floor button. The elevator made a slight humming sound as it began to make its way up the floors. As he stood there in the old elevator his mind began to recall the events of the last two days as well as a certain vampire queen.

"If only I didn't say anything to Marceline." Finn sighed to himself

Finn could feel the words that Marceline had said strike deep into his soul.

_**"Even if it does work out for us, how much time would we have?"**_

Those words echoed in his mind and reminded him why he was alone and why he always would be. He was a mere human and humans didn't have a place in this newly reformed world. Humans were what destroyed the planet in the first place.

"She would outlive me anyway." Finn said to himself as he chuckled a little

The elevator doors opened and Finn stepped out. He made his way down the narrow red hallway and to his room. He pulled out his key and looked at the number etched on to it. It read, room 709. He looked down the hall and found his room. He walked up to it and unlocked the door and stepped inside.

Finn locked the door behind him and took off his backpack and threw it on the bed. He opened it and pulled out a black shirt, some blue boxers and a pair of red shorts. He carried his new clothes with him to the bathroom and closed the door.

He looked around the small bathroom and set his clothes down on the sink. The bathroom was painted white and had a white linoleum tile floor. A brown towel was hanging on a towel rack and the shower had a door which meant it was one of the showers that you would stand in. Finn stripped himself down to his skin and opened the shower door and stepped in. He turn the water on and let the warm water run down his skin. His thoughts started to flood over him and hurt his head. His mind led him to someone he didn't want to think about anymore. Someone he spent more than enough time lingering on. Flame Princess.

* * *

_One year earlier.._

"Why are you yelling?"

"Why am I yelling?! I don't know! Maybe it's because my boyfriend is out dating other girls!" Flame Princess yelled at him

"Flame Princess calm down. It's not like that! Marceline is my friend."

"I see the way that you two look at each other. So don't stand here and lie to my face, Finn."

"FP, I'm with you. Not Marceline."

"Shut up shut up shut up!"

"Flame Princess, you gotta believe me!"

"But I don't believe you, Finn."

Finn stopped talking.

"I can't even trust you anymore. You're gone most of the time doing Gob knows what and when you are here you don't even talk to me."

"The only times I'm gone are to go adventuring and to hang out with Jake." Finn replied

"But you're always gone, Finn. You leave for days at a time without telling me so much as a word!"

"Ok. Look, I'm sorry that I haven't been here for you, Flame Princess. I promise things will be different. I'll be here more often from here on out."

Flame Princess looked away from him and took a couple of steps away.

"I don't think there'll be a here on out, Finn."

"What do you mean?" Finn asked her worriedly

Flame Princess looked back at him with watery eyes.

"I don't think there's much left for.. us, Finn."

Finn's heart sunk into his stomach.

"Wh-what?" He stuttered

"I just don't.. feel the same way I did when we were first dating and.."

"You're breaking up with me?"

Flame Princess stopped talking and just looked at him.

"I'm sorry."

Finn looked back at her and felt a weird sense of numbness and self-pity replace his emotions. Suddenly he felt empty.

"It's.. it's ok, Flame Princess." Finn said as he smiled at her weakly

Flame Princess walked up to him and kissed him on the cheek which sizzled on his skin.

"Just because.. this is happening doesn't mean I won't cherish the time we spent together. You'll always be my first."

A tear managed to fall from Finn's eye as he smiled at her.

"Goodbye, Finn."

Flame Princess shot off into the sky and left a trail of fire behind her.

* * *

Finn looked around himself. He was still in the shower and some of the skin on his fingers were wrinkling up. He turned off the shower and stepped out.

Several minutes later he was out of the shower and drying his hair. Suddenly he remembered he had to meet Isabel in the casino.

"Oh crap." Finn shouted

He quickly put on a pair of jeans and readjusted his black shirt. He put on his shoes and placed his hotel key in his pocket and ran out the door.

* * *

**Hello again! So if you haven't heard the news all of my stories except for this one are being put on hiatus. This story will continue. ****So now we trek into mature rated content. It felt a bit weird writing the scene between Marceline and Princess Bubblegum but then I remembered that I've written worst things than that. Anyways, I really hope that this chapter can help bring y'all back into this story.**

**If you have anything to say please leave it in the reviews whether it be a comment and/or suggestion. Anything you have will be appreciated. Thanks for reading!**

**-Micheal The Raconteur**


	7. The City and The Forest

Finn ran through the hallway and stopped at the elevator. He pressed a button and the elevator doors opened right away. He stepped inside the elevator and pressed the button that leads down to the main lobby. The doors closed shut and the elevator began to make its way down. Finn stood in the elevator, waiting for it to hurry up as he tapped his foot impatiently. The old humming of the elevator filled the silence within. Suddenly the elevator stopped and a loud ding rang throughout the elevator. The doors then opened. Finn then stepped out of the hotel elevator and made his way through the main lobby. He walked out of the building and looked at the scenery around him. He quickly spotted a building with pink and purple neon lights and walked up to it. As he approached it he saw a Fire Elemental standing outside of it in a tight black leather outfit. She looked at him and smiled. Finn smiled back nervously as he walked by.

"Talk about déjà vu." Finn said to himself

Finn began searching for the casino as he walked down the street. He saw a group of people yelling and partying in the street. One of the people hunched over and vomited. Finn looked away and kept walking. He then saw a two-story green building that had a sign that read Payday.

"There it is." Finn said to himself as he went towards the building

When he walked inside he was greeted by Isabel almost immediately.

"Hey, Finn!"

"Hi."

Finn looked around and saw all sorts of people gambling with their gold. Cursing and shouts could be heard throughout the building.

"So why are we here?" Finn asked her

"To have some fun! C'mon let's go try some of the slot machines!"

"The what machines?"

"Slot machines. They're these little machines that give you a chance to win money!"

They ran up to a slot machine that was brightly lit and had many cracks across it.

"Are you sure it's not broken?" Finn asked as he inspected the machine carefully

"Don't be silly. All you gotta do is put in a gold coin and pull on the lever."

Isabel quickly pulled out a coin from her pocket and placed it into the slot machine and pulled the lever.

* * *

Night time had fully settled in and Marceline had found no sign of Finn. It was like he vanished completely from the land of Ooo. A howling filled the chilly night as Marceline floated around a forest. She was completely clueless as to where Finn was. Suddenly a female's voice began to echo through the forest.

"**NO! STOP IT PLEASE! DON'T HURT HIM!**"

Marceline's ears perked up as she tried to find the source of the screaming.

"**PLEASE STOP!**"

Marceline instantly knew where the screams were coming from and bolted in the direction of them.

* * *

A pink humanoid was tied up on her knees in a clearing of the woods. She was crying her eyes out as a bandit was holding a blue humanoid man with a knife against his neck.

"Carley, look at me baby!" The blue humanoid said to the pink humanoid now known as Carley

Carley picked her head up and looked at him.

"Everything's gonna be fine! I promise."

The bandit holding him simply stared at them as a malicious smile grew on his face. The bandit then stabbed the blue humanoid's chest multiple times and kicked him to the ground towards Carley. Carley began screaming her lungs out as the blue humanoid's blood started flowing out of his body and on to the grass in front of her. Suddenly a person emerged from the woods and into the clearing. The person then tackled the bandit and grabbed his knife. Carley didn't pay any attention to the fight. She just continued to stare at the lifeless body of her husband and the crimson blood pooling out of him.

"Matthew.." She stammered as tears began to flow from her eyes

No response.

"Matthew, answer me!"

The bandit was laying on the ground as the other person had him pinned.

"What do you want, vampire?!"

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" Marceline shouted at him

"Nothing." The bandit replied

"Nothing my ass! You just killed someone!"

"I know." He said in a smug voice

Marceline then punched him square in the face, knocking him unconscious. Marceline sat on top of him, panting as she held his knife. She then got off of the bandit and walked towards Carley. She kneeled down next to her and cut her bindings off. Carley then collapsed right next to Matthew and continued sobbing. Marceline released the bloodied knife from her hand and sat right next to her and the body.

"I'm so sorry." Marceline told her

Carley just ignored her and kept on crying. Marceline sat there in silence as Carley cried. Marceline closed her eyes and shook her head. Carley then quickly grabbed the knife from off the ground. Marceline opened her eyes and saw Carley holding the knife. Carley got off the ground and ran to the bandit's unconscious body across the clearing. Marceline quickly sprang into action and leapt after her. Marceline barely caught the girl but she managed to slip away from Marceline's grasp and continued running. Marceline hit the ground with a thunk and could only watch as Carley screamed and plunged the knife deep into the bandit's heart.

Everything seemed to be moving in slow motion as Marceline watched Carley ruthlessly stab the bandit over and over again. Blood began to splatter on to her face as she screamed. Time resumed its natural flow as Marceline regained her senses. She got off the ground and made her way over to a now bloodied Carley. Carley raised the knife in the air again only to be caught by Marceline. Carley looked at Marceline with a sorrowful expression on her face.

"You've done enough." Marceline told her

Carley relaxed herself and sat down on the grass. Marceline stared at the body of the bandit and watched as he bled.

"I.. I thought that.. I thought that.. maybe if I killed him that it would've made me feel better." Carley spoke up

Marceline focused her attention over to her and readjusted her hair.

"But it didn't.. My husband is still dead and I'm all alone. He promised me he'd never leave me, that everything would be fine.. but he lied.." Carley said solemnly

Marceline was about to speak up but she quickly stopped her.

"Please don't say anything. Nothing you can say will make me feel better."

Marceline closed her mouth and looked down at the ground. Carley raised the knife to her own neck and slit it open. She fell down to the ground with a slump. Marceline quickly looked at her and rushed over to her.

"No no no no no! Why did you do this to yourself?!" Marceline shouted

Blood quickly spurted out of Carley's neck and on to the grass. Marceline covered the wound with her hands but with not much effect. Carley's blood was still pouring from her neck and covering Marceline's hands. As Marceline tried to save her, Carley's eyes rolled to the back of her head and closed.

* * *

Finn and Isabel emerged out from the casino and into the sidewalk. Isabel was laughing and Finn had a grin on his face.

"Who would've known that you were such a good gambler? I mean like you got twice the amount of gold you had earlier!"

"I am glad that I have more gold now." Finn chuckled

"I almost wasted all my gold. Stupid blackjack table.." Isabel muttered to herself

"Don't be such a downer! Look how about we go to one of the buffets and eat?" Finn suggested

A smile immediately came on to Isabel's face.

"Hell yeah, let's go!" Isabel shouted as she took off

"Hey, wait up!" Finn cried out as he tried catching up with her

Finn ran and ran until he saw Isabel go into one of the buffets. He looked at the sign above the building and ran inside. The place was named the Fat Cat's Buffet and had a picture of a fat black and white cat with a chef's hat on it. When Finn got inside he saw that Isabel was already eating a whole bunch of food at one of the tables. Finn looked at the price to eat there and simply pulled out his small sack of gold and placed it in one of the workers hands. He then ran to the food with a devilish grin on his face.

Isabel was digging into some sushi and suddenly felt her bladder fill up. She then bolted off to the bathroom.

"Gotta pee gotta pee gotta pee gotta pee!" She kept repeating as she dashed for the bathroom

She opened the door to the women's room and slammed it shut behind her.

Finn was sitting down and eating some pizza when he noticed that Isabel wasn't at the table with him.

"She's probably in the restroom or something." Finn said as he shrugged his shoulders

Finn continued to eat his food and drink his can of soda that he had grabbed.

Isabel came out of the restroom and started making her way back to Finn but was grabbed by somebody. Isabel was about to scream but a hand covered her mouth.

"Sh sh sh. It's just me, Isabel." A voice said

"Mmf mmff mmmmff!" Isabel said as the person had his hand over her mouth

The person removed his hand.

"What was that?" He asked

"Let me go, Travis."

The man let her go. She turned around and looked at him angrily. Travis was a green humanoid that had short brown hair and was wearing a black shirt with a pair of red jeans.

"Why the mean look?" He asked her

"What do you want?" She spat at him

"I have another job for you. Another person of interest has come up and I need your help."

Several minutes later Isabel got back to her table and sat down next to Finn. Several plates had stacked up on Finn's end of the table and he was now eating a burrito.

"Where were you?" Finn asked her with his mouth full

Isabel seemed to be staring out into space because she completely ignored him as she just looked at her sushi.

"Isabel?"

"Huh? What."

"You alright?"

"Yeah, yeah I'm ok. I'm just tired. What time is it?" She asked as she yawned

"Adventure time."

"Uh.. what."

"Oh nothing. I don't know what the time is though cause I don't have a watch but I'm pretty sure it's late."

"Is it ok if we leave?" She asked him

"You haven't even eaten that much."

"I'm not that hungry anymore. And I'm like really tired." She said as she stood up from her chair

"Sure, I guess we could go." Finn said as he stood up as well

They both walked out of the restaurant and back into the street. Isabel stretched her arms out as they walked down the sidewalk.

"Finn?"

"What's up?"

"I know it might seem pretty weird and I barely know you but I was wondering if you could walk me home?"

"Sure. This city does seem like it could be pretty sketchy at night." Finn said as he smiled at her

All of a sudden it began thundering. Finn and Isabel looked up and saw the collection of storm clouds forming above them. Then a single raindrop fell on to Finn's face.

"It's gonna rain."

"Yeah, it is." Isabel replied

"We should hurry. Where exactly is your place at?"

"It's a couple of blocks over." She said as she started walking

Finn quickly started walking as well and caught up with her.

"So what made you come here in the first place?" She asked him curiously

"I.. uh.. really wasn't expecting to come here. I sort of just ended up here."

"That's cool. So do you have any family?"

The raindrops began falling harder.

"Yeah, I have a brother back home." Finn answered

"What's his name?"

"Jake. He's a pretty cool guy."

"Yeah, I bet."

The raindrops were falling more heavily and numerously

"Do you have any family?" Finn asked her

"Just my sister. My parents died when we were really young."

"I'm so sorry."

"No, it's ok. Anyways, I've been looking for my sister. She went missing about two years ago."

They crossed the street as they talked. Isabel began to shiver as the rain fell. She looked down at her white shirt and saw that it was getting wet. Finn saw this as well.

"Worst day to wear a white shirt ever." She chuckled

Finn looked around the brightly lit city and caught sight of an old clothing store down the road.

"There's a clothing store over there. C'mon!" Finn said as he grabbed her hand and ran to the clothing store.

Isabel gave out a yelp as they dashed down the street. As they ran Isabel could feel something stirring around in her stomach. It felt like butterflies. She looked over at Finn and saw the small grin on his face and could feel a smile forming on her face. They then both approached the store laughing and smiling. Finn then opened the door and Isabel walked in.

When they walked in they saw tons of clothes hanging all around the store. Finn then spotted a white umbrella and went up to it. He picked it up and walked over to where Isabel was at. She was holding a baby blue shirt.

"You're not gonna get a jacket?" Finn asked her

"Nah. Besides this is all I have enough for."

Finn looked around the store and caught sight of a violet hoodie. He walked over to it and picked it up. He then grabbed the baby blue shirt that Isabel was holding and brought them over to the yellow humanoid working at the register.

"What are you doing, Finn?" Isabel whispered to him

"Shh!"

"Don't you hush me!"

"That'll be 75 gold." The cashier said

Finn poured out some of his gold from his small pouch of gold. Finn then grabbed the white umbrella, the baby blue shirt and the violet hoodie and handed it to Isabel.

"Now you won't be cold." Finn told her

Isabel grabbed the hoodie and stared at Finn.

"I.. I.."

"You don't need to say anything. I won't want to be cold and wet either."

"Uh.. thank you.." Isabel said shyly

"No problem."

She then walked into one of the changing rooms with the shirt and hoodie. Finn sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

"You two seem like a nice couple." The cashier said

Finn scoffed and laughed a little.

"No, we're just acquaintances. Chances are that I'll never see her again."

"What do you mean?"

"I was just passing through and met her today."

"Seems like you two have known each other for a while though." He told Finn

"Yeah, I know. Besides, I'm really not looking forward to being in a relationship for a while."

"Girl problems?"

"Something like that."

Isabel then came out from the dressing room with the hoodie on.

"Well I gotta go." Finn said

"Goodbye." The yellow humanoid told them

Finn and Isabel then departed from the shop. Finn opened up the white umbrella and held it over him and Isabel.

"So how much further 'til we get to your place."

"It's across the street in the alley.." She said in a lower tone of voice

"Oh ok."

Finn and Isabel crossed the street and walked into the alleyway. They kept walking deeper and deeper into the alley as the rain poured down.

"So where's your place?" He asked her

Finn looked ahead and saw some people approaching them. He turned around and saw more people coming from the back.

"Stay behind me, Isabel. I don't like where this is going." Finn told her

He could hear Isabel sobbing.

"I'm sorry, Finn. I'm so sorry." She said

"Huh?"

Finn turned around and felt a blade sink into his stomach. He looked at Isabel and saw tears running down her eyes. She pulled the blade out and dropped it on to the ground. Finn placed his hand over his wound.

"I'm sorry." She repeated

The people were closing in on them. Finn reached over and pulled out his katana. He let go of his wound and held the katana with both of his hands. One of the people approaching pulled out a sword and swung at him. Finn evaded the swing and stabbed the person in his back. He pulled the blade out and held it tightly. Finn then attacked another person and pierced his stomach. He then let go of the katana and punched another figure in the face. Suddenly a kick in Finn's leg brought him down to his knees. Then a fist hit him directly in the face. Finn then fell to the ground and curled into a ball.

Everything was hazy for the human as he felt a barrage of kicks and punches land on him. Then somebody pulled him up by his hair. Finn looked at him with his bloody face. It was a green looking humanoid.

"Goodnight." The humanoid told him

The person then slammed Finn's face into the brick wall.

* * *

Murmurs and images swirled around. He could feel a coldness washing over him. He felt betrayed. Used. He was always the good guy but that got him nowhere. Every girl that he ever loved left him. Pessimistic thoughts began to fill his very being. But what if things were different? What if he didn't necessarily have to be the good or evil guy. What if he was neutral? Doing things to benefit himself sounded really good to him now. So maybe he could try doing that. Do things for himself for a little while. It couldn't hurt for just a little while.

Finn then opened his eyes and groaned. He looked at himself and noticed that he was tied to a chair and covered in his own blood. He felt weak and tired. There was a single light bulb hanging from the ceiling that was flickering off and on. He looked up and saw someone wearing a pig mask standing right in front of him. He was holding a baton in his left hand.

"Good, you're awake. Now I have a couple of questions to ask you and you're going to answer them, ok buddy."

Finn spat some blood on the floor and looked back at the masked man.

"Why?" Finn asked

The man swung his baton and hit Finn directly in the face.

"I'm asking questions here, understand?" The man said calmly

Blood began dripping down Finn's face rapidly. The blow of the hit disoriented the human. He couldn't focus on anything and began coughing.

"..Ok."

"Now, are you human?"

"Yes.."

"Where are you from?"

"The grasslands."

"And what's your name?"

"Finn the human."

"So _you are_ Finn the human. You know, I always thought you were a myth. One measly human boy couldn't have defeated all those creatures and do all those heroic deeds, could he?"

Finn looked up at him and smiled a bit. The man saw this and began to chuckle. He set down the baton and pulled out a kitchen knife and stabbed him in the stomach. Finn yelled out in pain.

"What happened? You were just smiling a second ago."

Finn could feel the blood leaving his body rapidly from his stomach. The masked man grabbed Finn by the face and placed the knife against his cheek.

"C'mon, give me a smile." He said lowly

The man slashed Finn's cheekbone and kicked his chair back to the ground. Finn kept on coughing and bled.

"You really are gullible. I can't believe all it took was a girl to take you down."

Finn began to writhe around in the chair and gasp for air.

"Now I won't kill you. You can thank your lucky stars for that. No, we're gonna sell you. In the Market you could fetch an incredible price and make me rich. And it's all thanks to that little girly, Isabel."

Finn's blood was pouring on the floor and spreading across it.

"That's enough!" A voice called out

The masked man looked back and saw an older looking man with grey hair standing in the doorway to the room holding a doctor's bag.

"If you keep beating him like this you'll kill him." The older man told him

"Whatever you say, Doc." The masked man said as he backed away from a bloody Finn.

The masked man walked out of the room and closed the door behind him. The older looking man quickly rushed to Finn and pulled his chair back up. Finn groaned and slowly began to drift in and out of consciousness.

"C'mon stay with me." The doctor said to him

The doctor opened his bag and started pulling out medical supplies. Finn could barely keep his eyes open and his body was getting colder and colder. That's when he closed his eyes and passed out.

* * *

Finn opened his eyes and found that he was standing on the edge of a snowy cliff. The skies were grey, the wind was howling and snow was falling all around him and into the frozen abyss below him. He was wearing a grey zip-up hoodie and black jeans. His breaths were coming out in puffs of icy mist and the cold didn't seem to be bothering him at all. The crunching of snow could be heard from behind him.

"Finn." A familiar voice called out to him

Finn turned around and saw Marceline walking up to him. She was wearing a black and red striped hoodie and a pair of skinny jeans. Finn turned back around and gazed off into the distance.

"Don't be like that, Finn." Marceline said as she walked up to him and stood beside him.

"Why did you say no?" He asked her

Marceline just looked at him with a sad look on her face.

"I can't answer you that, Finn. That's for you to ask the real Marceline."

Finn looked back at her as the snow continued to fall.

"But that doesn't change the fact that you're my best friend and that I still like you." She told him as she looked into his blue eyes with her crimson ones

She reached her hand out and wrapped it around his.

"Finn, why did you run from her?"

"Why does it matter? If I stayed would she have noticed any more or less of my existence?" He asked her

"The real question is, would you have made yourself worth noticing?"

The world around him started breaking and falling apart. Marceline kept a steady grip on his hand and kissed him on the cheek. She let go of his hand and stood at the edge.

"Marceline, what're you doing?"

"Wake up, Finn. You both need each other."

"She doesn't need me. She's been alone for centuries."

"But that doesn't mean she's never been lonely. You're her best friend, Finn, whether you like it or not. She needs you."

The skies began thundering and the winds picked up speed.

"So wake up." Marceline said as she leapt off the edge

Then Finn finally opened his eyes.

* * *

**So things happened and it kind of caused Finn to become more.. selfish. Things with Marceline also aren't going very well either. If you have things to say whether they are nice or not, please just say them.**

**I do have an honest question though. I know that this story just started out, but what do you readers think of the story? I'm genuinely curious. I'd really appreciate it if y'all could tell me what y'all think. Anyways, thank you all for reading!**

**-Micheal The Raconteur**


	8. Something Dark

_**Several months earlier..**_

A silent figure was strolling through the cold, damp streets of Wizard City. The crescent moon in the sky dimly lit the ground below. The figure was donning a black cloak that concealed most of his features. Small flakes of snow were falling from the heavens and unto the land. He looked all around him as he walked on. He'd been to this city before but under different circumstances. He was never actually given the opportunity to explore the city but now he had seized it. He continued walking along the road slowly as the snow crunched underneath each of his steps. He walked until he saw a potion shop that was open. He approached the building and made his way to the wooden door. He then opened the door and went inside.

When he walked in he was greeted by hundreds of glimmering potions on the walls. He glanced around and could only stare in awe at the staggering amount of potions and spells that were available to him.

"Hey there, stranger. Welcome to my potion shop! If there's anything that catches your eye just let me know." The cashier said to him

He simply nodded in response and continued looking around until he stumbled across a light blue potion. The potion had a simple label that only read ice on it. He grabbed the ice potion and gave it to the cashier. He then grabbed three more different potions and gave them to the cashier as well. The cashier looked at the potions and set them back down.

"Since you got an ice potion, two flying potions and this other one, that'll be 500 gold." The cashier informed him

"Alright." The figure said as he dug through his pockets

The figure then pulled out a small sack of gold and tossed it to the cashier. He then grabbed the four potions and placed them into his pockets and made his way to the door.

"Nice doin' business with ya!" The cashier said happily as he held the gold

"Whatever." The figure mumbled to himself as he walked out

When the figure stepped outside he decided it was time to exit the city before he aroused any suspicion. He started walking forward and yawned tiredly. As he walked on he couldn't shake the feeling that he was being watched. He stopped walking in the middle of the street and looked around in all directions. The silent snow continued to fall into the layer of snow already on the ground. He then caught sight of a figure on top of the building beside him.

"Why're you following me?" He asked the other figure

The figure leapt off the building and landed in front of him. He looked at the figure and saw that it had antlers sticking from it's head. The figure then removed it's hood and revealed itself. The figure was a girl around his age who had green skin and leaves for hair. She gave him a small smirk and walked closer to him. He stood there frozen as the girl removed his own hood. His golden hair spilled out and fell to the lower part of his neck. She giggled and blushed a little. This caused him to blush as well.

"Hello there, Finn the human." The girl said

"And you are?" Finn asked curiously

The girl pressed her finger against his lips and inched even closer to him, pressing her body against his.

"What're you doing?"

"People call me Huntress Wizard but you can call me Lily." The girl said softly

She then giggled which caused him to give her a weird look. She looked into his glossy sapphire eyes and sighed.

"You have beautiful eyes." She complimented him

She took a step back and withdrew a small dagger from her cloak and swung it at Finn. Finn quickly withdrew a dagger of his own and deflected the attack. She then raised her left hand and conjured up a small fireball and threw it at him. He saw this and sidestepped the fireball and let it hit the building behind him.

"No fair! You're using magic!" Finn cried out

Lily winked and threw another fireball at him. Finn dodged the fireball and ran towards her. He then swung his dagger at her with full force. She easily dodged his attack and began to run down the street. Finn broke into a sprint and began to pursue her. She looked back at him and smiled. She then turned into an alleyway between two buildings. Finn quickly caught up and went into the same alley. Lily was in the alley but unluckily for her it ended in a dead-end. Finn made his way over to her and began to regain his breath.

"Why'd you attack me?" He asked her

Lily turned around and faced him directly.

"I was curious." She told him

"Curious about what?"

"You." She said as she came closer to him

Finn raised his dagger and braced himself for another attack. As Lily walked towards him she held out her dagger out and dropped it on to the snow. Finn lowered his dagger steadily but remained cautious of her actions. She let her hair blow with the cold wind as she now stood in front of him. She lifted her arms and wrapped them around Finn's neck. Finn felt somewhat uneasy as she looked into his eyes and closed the distance between them. Now they were face to face. Their breaths were clearly visible because of the cold atmosphere around them. There were snowflakes stuck in Finn's golden hair and in Lily's hair as well.

"Where is this going?" Finn asked

"Somewhere." Lily said softly

She then closed the space and quickly placed her lips upon his cheek and backed away. Finn stood there dumbstruck.

"See you 'round, hero boy."

Lily then pulled out a grappling hook from her cloak and pointed it to the top of one of the buildings and fired. She then pressed a button on the hook and zipped away before Finn could say anything. Next thing Finn knew she was gone and he was standing in the middle of an alley by himself.

"What just happened?"

* * *

**Now..**

Finn opened his eyes and was greeted by a dim moonlight and the soft patter of rain. He groaned and noticed that he was laying on top of a bed. He sat up on the bed he was on and winced as he felt a headache coming along.

"Easy there." A voice told him

Finn looked over and saw an older looking blue humanoid with grey hair in a doctor's outfit. He noticed that all his supplies were gone so he looked around the room for them but to no avail.

"If you're wondering where are your supplies, I placed them somewhere safe." He told him

"Where am I? How long was I out? Damn this hurts.." Finn said as he felt the headache hit full force

"You were out for two days."

"You fixed me up?" Finn asked

"Yes. It wasn't easy but I did."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome."

Finn rubbed his eyes and yawned. He looked down at himself and saw that his torso was completely covered in bandages. He felt a small sting on his face and reached up to it and felt stitches on his face.

"Look, I'm sorry about what happened." The doctor apologized to him

Finn remained silent. Suddenly there was a knock on the door. The man went up to the door and opened it. Finn slowly stood up and fixed his hair. He then looked over at the door and saw a familiar looking Water Elemental.

"Finn, before you say anything I just want to say that I'm sorry." Isabel said as she walked into the room

"Sorry? You're sorry?" Finn said in disbelief

"I didn't have a choice. You have to understand that."

Finn was about to say something but turned away from her. He looked out the window and watched as the moon became shrouded by the storm clouds. The rain continued to fall.

"They have my sister, Finn." She told him

"I thought your sister went missing." Finn said

"Travis kidnapped her. He told me he'll kill her if I don't help him do what he does."

"So you go around luring people into alleyways so they can end up like this?!" He yelled at her

"I didn't have a choice! Do you think I liked doing that? What was I suppose to do? Let my sister die? I can't do that, Finn. If Jake was in the same position as my sister wouldn't you do the same?"

"Can you just go?!" Finn shouted as he turned back around and faced window

She turned around and headed for the door. She looked back at him and sighed. She then opened the door and walked out. The door closed behind her.

"She's not entirely in the wrong." The doctor said to him

"I know she isn't, Doc. But I trusted her and she betrayed me."

"She's not a bad girl, Finn. Remember that."

Finn walked over to the bed and laid back down on it. The doctor then walked out of the room, leaving Finn to his lonesome. Finn looked down at his injuries.

"I should probably rest." Finn said to himself as he closed his eyes

* * *

Standing outside Finn's room was Isabel. She was deep in thought about what had transpired in the last couple of days. Finn was upset with her and he had a perfectly good reason to be. But she really had no choice back in the alley. Travis was really holding her sister. Isabel already told Finn that she was sorry and why she did what she did but he was still distressed. She didn't enjoy doing what she did. She simply had to so she could make sure her sister would still be alive.

She made her way down the hallway slowly as she replayed the night in the alley with Finn all over again. He was a genuinely nice guy and she had taken advantage of that. She leaned against the wall and sighed. She reluctantly decided to go back to her chambers and rest.

* * *

Several hours later Isabel was up and about. She was walking through the halls with the intent of checking up on Finn even if she wasn't exactly his favorite person in the world. Checking up on him was the least she could do to try to make it up to him considering the last couple of days. She slowly approached Finn's room and took a deep breath. She opened the door to the room and stepped inside.

When she entered the room she found Travis standing beside a sleeping Finn just staring at him. He looked over at her and smiled. He walked up to her and stood in front of her. Isabel could smell the raw stench of alcohol on his breath. He absolutely reeked of it. Travis raised his hand up and stroked her cheek. She moved herself away from him but he moved closer to her. She backed away from him again but he pinned her against the wall. Travis pushed himself against her and kissed her neck. Isabel tried breaking away but Travis quickly stopped her. He pulled out a small knife from a holster on his waist and held it against her neck. He lightly dragged the blade across her skin. Isabel closed her eyes as he reached his hand up her skirt.

Suddenly Travis was thrown to the floor roughly. Isabel opened her eyes and saw Finn standing in front of her looking down at Travis. Travis quickly got back up and thrusted his knife at him. Finn backed away and dodged the knife effortlessly.

Finn was still pretty messed up and exhausted. If this dragged on he would definitely be in trouble. He needed to end this quick. Travis ran towards him and raised his knife. Finn dodged the knife again and gave Travis' leg a hard kick which caused the knee to snap. Finn quickly grabbed the knife from him as he fell to the ground and held it tightly against his neck.

"I should kill you!" Finn said to him harshly

Travis started chuckling as Finn pressed the knife harder against his neck, slightly breaking the skin and causing some blood to surface.

"Even if you kill me you wouldn't be able to save your sister, Isabel."

Isabel's expression quickly changed.

"Where is she, Travis?" She demanded

"She's not here." He said as he laughed bitterly

"What?" Isabel gasped in disbelief

Travis began to laugh hysterically.

"She was never here! Honestly, it's amazing what you can get people to do with just a little bluff."

"After all the things you made me done and you tell me that she was never here.."

Finn released Travis from his iron grip and walked away from him.

"What are you waiting for, you worthless piece of shit? Kill me!" Travis taunted him

"No." Finn said as he walked towards the door.

Travis tried getting up but his knee began to make disgusting snapping sounds. He immediately fell back down to the concrete floor and yelled in pain. Finn opened the door and exited the room

"Get back here in here, you bastard!" Travis screamed out

Isabel walked up to him and kicked him directly in the face causing a loud crunch to emit throughout the room. Travis began yelling in pain.

"Finn may not be able to kill you, but I'm more than capable of it." She told him

She raised her boot once more and stomped on his face again. This time blood spilled on to the floor. She then began to stomp on him mercilessly. As each stomp connected with him the more blood splattered on to the floor and the less responsive to the actual pain Travis became. White hot rage filled the girl completely as she stomped on him. She then stopped and glanced at his face. Travis' face was a bloody pulp to say the least. Most of his face was covered in blood and patches of his skin were caved in from the stomping. His nose was completely crooked and some of his teeth were missing. His right eye was reduced to mush and the right side of his face was swollen. Travis started to laugh again but quickly began coughing. He spat blood on to the floor and started wheezing for air. Isabel looked around the room and saw a bone saw left on a counter in the room. She grabbed it off the counter and walked back to Travis. She gripped him by his brown hair and picked his head up.

"'Atta, girl." Travis whispered

She quickly slit his throat with the bone saw and threw him to the ground. Blood quickly spurted out of his neck and on to the concrete floor. The grey floor of concrete around him quickly changing to a dark shade of crimson. Isabel held the bone saw tightly and made her way to the door. She then opened the wooden door and left the room.

* * *

The rain continued to fall as Marceline held her umbrella. She was approaching a small town after about a day of travel. After the whole incident with Carley, she had become extremely tired. She then began looking around tiredly in hopes of finding Finn amongst the townsfolk. She yawned and rubbed her eyes as she searched on. She was floating down a narrow dirt trail and took glances at the many run down buildings around her. There were people walking around but none of them were the person she was looking for. She then saw a small child running around town with a stick. Normally, she wouldn't have paid any mind to the girl but what stuck out to her about this girl was the fact that she was wearing a familiar white bear hat. Finn's hat. The small girl was swinging the stick around and making swishing noises as she did. The girl turned around and saw Marceline looking and waved at her.

"Hi." The girl greeted her

"Hello." Marceline replied

"Are you a vampire?" The girl asked

"Haha. Yup." Marceline answered

"That's so cool!" The girl exclaimed excitedly

"I hope you don't mind me asking, but where'd you get that cute little hat?" Marceline asked her curiously

"This is Finn the hero's hat! He came to town a couple of days ago, it was awesome! He beat up the Hunters and stuff!"

"That _**is**_ cool. Were the Hunters bad guys?"

"Yeah. They were really bad. And stinky too!"

Marceline giggled.

"Is Finn still here?" She asked

"No. He left a couple of days ago." The girl answered

Marceline frowned. She arrived here only to miss him by a couple of days.

"Do you know where he went?" Marceline asked the girl

"No, but somebody said that they saw him run to the east, which is where Atmora is. They call it The City of Lights."

"Why's that?" Marceline asked

"Because the city is full of lights and people! I've always wanted to go but Grandma always says no."

"I think your Grandma might be right." Marceline told her

"You're just like her." The girl mumbled

Marceline simply chuckled again.

"Why are you looking for Finn?" She asked

"I need to tell him something. Something important."

"Well I hope you find him so you can tell him." The girl said as she skipped away

"Me too." Marceline said to herself

* * *

"Princess, are you alright?" Peppermint Butler asked

Princess Bubblegum quickly snapped out of her thoughts and saw the small candy butler looking at her with a concerned expression decorating his face.

"I'm alright." She replied to him

"If you need anything, please call me." He told her gently as he left the room and closed the door behind him

As soon as the door closed, Princess Bubblegum sighed heavily. Exhaustion was setting in and it wasn't very pretty. Her hair was extremely messy and she had heavy bags under her eyes. The last couple of nights had been rough for her. First Finn disappeared and now Marceline had as well. It didn't take a scientist to figure out that their departures were related but the real question was as to why they left. What exactly made them leave?

She walked around her room and rubbed her shoulders. She could feel the temperature lower even further in her room which made her shiver. She plopped herself down on to her soft mattress and decided to lay down. She looked up at the ceiling fan in the room and stared at the pinkness of it. Suddenly there was a knock on her door. She got up from her bed and made her way to the bedroom door and opened it. Standing in front of the door was none other than Jake. He looked up at her with a worried look on his face.

"Jake, what're you doing here? What's wrong?" She asked him

"It's Finn. I'm worried about him."

"Jake, it'll be alright. I'm sure Finn's gonna come back." She said as she stepped out of her room and closed the door behind her

"But what if something happens to him? Something bad."

"He's not the little boy he was all those years ago, Jake. He can take care of himself." She reassured him

"And now Marceline's gone because she went after him and I'm pretty sure she's going to-!"

Jake noticed what he was saying and quickly shut his mouth with his hands and stopped talking. Princess Bubblegum gave him a look.

"Because she's going to what, Jake?" She questioned

Jake shook his head and remained quiet.

"You can tell me, Jake. There's nothing to be afraid of."

Jake shook his head again and let go of his mouth.

"I can't, Princess."

"But this is serious, Jake! Whatever it was that made them leave was probably serious considering that Finn wouldn't want to leave his hero duties and become an explorer all of a sudden." She said as she started to become more irritated by the dog

Jake began to nervously pace around the hall as he rubbed his paws together.

"And now Marceline went after him.." She trailed off

Jake began to make small whimpering noises as he paced around. Princess Bubblegum knew that he was close to spilling. All that it would take for him to spill the beans now was one more push.

"Why would she go after him? Considering how she is it is possible that she did him wrong in some way and now regrets doing so.." She continued on

"It's because she likes him!" Jake blurted out

"What?!"

Jake quickly covered his mouth. He backed away from her a bit and sighed. He let go of his mouth and decided to finally tell her.

"Marceline's one of the reasons why Finn left."

Princess Bubblegum didn't necessarily know what to do with this info. She wasn't expecting some sort of affection between them to that extent, but nonetheless it interested her deeply.

"Uhh.. okay. So when did all this start, Jake?" She asked him

"It'd been going on for a while but things didn't go bad until about a week ago, give or take." He said

Princess Bubblegum simply nodded.

"Finn told me that they were hanging out and that it just happened. At first I didn't know what he was talking about but then he made it pretty clear about what'd happened..." He trailed off

"What happened?" She asked

"They kissed."

* * *

**So this chapter was somewhat difficult to write but I managed to come up with something. I have some plans for Finn that are quite interesting. **

**School for me is coming up. It actually starts next week on Monday. I'm starting my Senior year so I might not be able to update as much as I have during the summer. Not that I updated much anyway but you can see where I'm getting at. Anyways thanks for reading all you beauties and don't be afraid to show this story some love. Feel free to leave a review and any suggestions you have. If you do have a suggestion I'll look over it and PM you about it. **

**I guess that's it so I'll see you guys next chapter.**

**-Micheal The Raconteur**


	9. Into The Void

Finn made his way down the narrow hallway as he tried to navigate his way out of the building. The building itself had many intersecting corridors which made it difficult for him to find an exit. As he made his way down he heard sobbing come from down the hallway. He found Isabel sitting down in the middle of the hallway with a bloody bone-saw resting next to her. Just by looking at it he could already tell what she did to Travis. It didn't take a genius to figure it out. Finn then slowly approached her. She quickly grabbed the bone-saw and stood up. She then pointed it at him. Once her eyes met his she instantly dropped the bone-saw. She fell against the wall and slid down to the floor. Finn came closer to her and sat down right next to her. She looked over at him as she began to shake.

"She's not here, Finn. It was all a lie." She spoke solemnly

Finn wrapped his arms around her and brought her in for a hug.

"You'll find your sister one day. It might not be today or tomorrow but you'll find her someday." He assured her

"And what if I don't, Finn? What if I never find her?"

"Don't talk like that. You'll find her."

Isabel sniffled and broke away from the hug.

"You really think so?"

"Yeah, I do."

Shouts and running could be heard off in the distance. The other slavers were coming after them.

"We have to go. They're looking for us."

Finn stood up and offered her his hand. She looked up at him and took his hand. He pulled her up and looked down the hallway. The doctor appeared in front of them. He was holding Finn's green back pack and katana. He offered them to him and Finn took them.

"You must leave now. They know you two are responsible for Travis' death."

"But what about you?" Isabel asked

"I'll be fine. You two won't be though if you stay." He replied

"Where's the nearest exit?" Finn asked him

"I'll lead you to it." He said

The doctor then turned around and started running down the corridor. Finn grabbed Isabel's hand and followed suit. After several minutes of running they came across a metal door at the end of a hallway. The doctor opened it and revealed the wilderness outside. Finn and Isabel stepped outside and let go of each other's hands.

"Finn, I want you to take care of Isabel." He told him

"Yeah." Finn told him

The doctor stayed at the door as Finn and Isabel kept running. The two quickly noticed that the doctor was not following them.

"C'mon, Doc! What are you waiting for?" Finn asked him

"I'm afraid that this is as far as I can go."

"What?!" Isabel shouted

"Go and find your sister, Isabela."

"I can't just leave you!" She shouted

"Do not argue with me! Now go!" The doctor shouted at her

"But!"

"Go!"

Finn grabbed Isabel and pulled her away. The doctor then slammed the door shut and locked it.

"Let me go! Finn, let me go!" She yelled at him

"I can't let you go back!" He told her firmly

Finn continued running as he carried her bridal style.

"We can't just leave him!" Isabel yelled on the verge of tears

Isabel pushed herself off of him and started running back. Finn quickly chased after her.

"Isabel, what the hell are you doing?"

"I'm going back for him!"

Finn caught up with her and wrapped his arms around her.

"Stop! Let me go!" She screamed

"Isabel stop!" Finn said as he held on to her more tightly and didn't budge.

She kept on squirming, desperately trying to find a way to break free of his grip. She then turned into a liquid and slipped out of his grip. She then manifested herself as a humanoid again and kept running. The iron door leading back into the building was only ten feet away. As she approached it she felt a hard chop against the back of her neck and fell. Then everything went black.

* * *

**Several hours later..**

The crackling of a fire was all that was heard as Finn laid down next to a small bonfire that he built. An unconscious Isabel was laying there as well. He looked over and saw a worried expression on her face. A sad one. He could feel the sadness emanating from her like an odor. It felt contagious and he felt like he was being infected. In other words, her sadness was starting to become his.

The moon was full tonight. The pale moonlight was glossing the land over with a dim shade of light.

As Finn laid there his eyelids were starting to become heavier. He then sighed and closed his eyes. Sleep soon overtook him.

Finn slowly opened his eyes and saw that everything around him had changed. The sky was a dark purple and boomed with thunder. He rose up from the floor and noticed Isabel was no longer anywhere near him. He stood up and looked at the scenery around him. He was standing on a giant chunk of earth that was floating in midair. Out in the distance were other pieces of land with trees and decayed buildings on them. Things were quite off here and Finn was curious as to where he was right now because it certainly didn't seem like he was in the old forest from last night. He made his way to the edge of the chunk he was on and looked down below. He was shocked by what he was met with. It was complete and utter nothingness. Finn backed away from the edge and started to hear voices around him.

"_**Seconds.. centuries.. they pass like the wind and drift away into oblivion. We are the end and the beginning. The past and the future. We are all children of The Void.**_"

"Who's there?" He said

He got no response. Finn then saw a piece of ground form several yards below him. On that piece of ground he saw a pale, black-haired man standing on top of it. Finn walked to the edge and jumped on to the piece of earth below. The man looked at him.

"Hello, Finn. I've been expecting you for a while now. I have been watching you and I have to say you are quite the interesting individual." The man told him

"Who are you?" Finn asked the man

"Now I know you must have a lot of questions for me so I'll answer what I can. My name is Garrett and you are in a place known as The Void. I have brought you here to warn you of events that will transpire in your realm." Garrett explained

"Events? What events?" Finn asked

"War."

"That can't be true. Ooo's entered a new era of peace. So how would there be war?" Finn replied

"It will not be from outer forces but rather from the inside." Garrett said

"The Kingdoms." Finn muttered to himself

"Yes."

"So you're telling me one of the kingdoms is going to declare war."

"War is approaching the land of Ooo and you will be in the midst of it. People you know will be involved and you will be forced to choose a side. But that is only the beginning." Garrett explained

"What do you mean it's only the beginning?" Finn asked

"Enough. I've already told you more than what I should have. Now it is time I prepare you for it."

Finn could feel a sensation fill his left arm. He looked over and saw strange dark purple rune markings begin to cover his left arm and wrist. He then began to levitate into the air.

"Now I won't lie to you. This is going to hurt."

"Garrett, what're you doing?!"

"Helping you."

"Wait a min-!"

He was cut off as a blinding pain filled his entire body.

"AHHHH!"

He screamed as an intense pain burned into his very being. His insides felt like they were on fire. A purple aura surrounded him as he squirmed around in the air. All the scars on Finn's body reopened and begun to bleed. Finn yelled even louder. He quickly panted as he tried to ignore the pain. His vision began dimming in and out slowly as he began to lose consciousness. Then suddenly the pain stopped and he dropped to the ground. The rune markings lost their purple hue and turned black.

"May the best of luck befall you, mortal." Garrett's voice echoed

Finn awoken with a gasp. He felt his head began to spin. He looked up and saw that the sun was high in the sky. He looked over and saw that Isabel was still asleep.

"That was one hell of a dream." He said to himself

He then felt a stinging sensation in his arm. He glanced down at his left arm and noticed that a black rune pattern was tattooed on to it.

* * *

**A/N: Hello again. I hope you found this chapter interesting. The reason being is because the talk of war is going to drastically change this story's tone and direction. There will be situations and issues that Finn will be forced to deal with and I'm thinking of making this story a bit interactive. For example, let's say if Finn has to choose between options A, B, C, and D, then you guys can help him choose. The choices chosen will affect the story. If there is a choice to be made then you guys will have a certain amount of days to help Finn make that choice. If any choice is a tie then I will choose what I think is the best option. So once again, if you guys want that interactive decision making then please say so in a review. **

**Now time for some news. I have recently gotten a job so updating will be even more sketchy now. That doesn't mean that this story is going to die. It just means that it will take more time to write now that I have a job. **

**Thank you for reading and don't forget to leave a review!**

**-Micheal The Raconteur**


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